A man accused of strangling his roommate and putting her body in a closet at their Panorama City apartment pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a murder charge.
Mario Rene Villalobos, 58, was allegedly trying to evict Cassandra Olsen- Silagyi, 48, from the apartment they shared in the 8700 block of Sepulveda Boulevard, police said.
Prosecutors said the pair had lived together for about a month, and believe the killing occurred on or about May 1.
Olsen-Silagyi’s body was found in a closet May 4 when police went to the apartment building in response to a tip that Villalobos might be trying to dispose of a body.
Police said she had been dead for several days when her body was found.
— City News Service